Before Miami, before marketing classes, before tech and everything I’m working on now, I spent two years doing something completely different while I was still in high school. I volunteered as a gardener and helped coordinate other volunteers in Battery Park in New York City. It sounds random when people hear it for the first time, but for me it was one of the most grounding periods of my life.

Working in a garden in the middle of a city like New York is its own kind of contrast. You’re surrounded by noise and people rushing somewhere. And then you step into the park and suddenly everything slows down. Plants don’t care about the pace of the city. They grow the way they grow. They need consistency and attention. Nothing else.

I liked the routine of it. I liked showing up early, seeing the same volunteers, and organizing a group of people who came from different backgrounds but shared the same intention of doing something positive with their time. It wasn’t dramatic or flashy. It was simple work that mattered. We planted, watered, trimmed, cleaned, organized, and made small spaces better than we found them.

Looking back, it taught me more about creativity than I expected. Gardening isn’t just placing plants in the ground. You’re designing spaces, thinking about how different colors and shapes work together, planning months ahead, and working with things you can’t fully control. It’s hands-on problem solving. It’s patience. It’s trusting a process you can’t rush.

It also taught me wellness in a very real sense. Not the version people post online. Actual wellness. Being outdoors. Feeling present. Working with my hands instead of a screen. Being part of something that had no ego attached to it. Just plants, people, and small improvements that built up over time.

I realized I like doing work that has an impact, even if it’s subtle. Planting flowers strangers walk by without thinking. Cleaning an area that becomes the background of someone’s morning. Leading volunteers who wanted to contribute something meaningful to the city. You don’t get a thank you for any of it, but the result is there anyway.

That part stayed with me. The idea that you don’t need recognition to make a difference. You just show up. You do the work. You leave things better than they were. And over time, the impact builds.

I don’t garden every day now, but the mindset stayed. I like projects where I can shape something, improve something, or organize something into a clearer version. I like contributing in ways that aren’t loud. And I like knowing that small actions matter, even if no one sees them happen.

Those two years in Battery Park were a different chapter, but an important one. It taught me that creativity can be practical, that wellness can be simple, and that impact doesn’t need to be dramatic to feel real. And honestly, I’m glad that part of my story exists. It keeps me grounded no matter what I choose to build next.